Yesterday was the filing deadline. Here’s the official list of candidates, modulo any challenges or subsequently invalidated applications. The highlights:
– There are thirteen candidates for Mayor. The City Secretary might consider starting the ballot order draw now, this may take awhile.
– Dwight Boykins in D, Dave Martin in E, and Larry Green in K are the only incumbents not to draw opponents. No new contenders emerged in G or H.
– Kendall Baker became the third candidate in District F. Here’s a reminder about who he is.
– Former HCC Trustee Herlinda Garcia filed against CM Robert Gallegos in I. She was appointed to the HCC board in 2013 to fill Mary Ann Perez’s seat after having served before, and was supported in the 2013 runoff by Dave Wilson.
– Frequent commenter Manuel Barrera filed in District J, joining Jim Bigham and some other dude against CM Mike Laster. You can search for his name in the archives here. I think we have our 2015 vintage “straight slate”.
– Former District A candidate Mike Knox is in for At Large #1, and performance artist Eric Dick has graced us with his presence in At Large #2. Again, “straight slate”.
– I am disappointed but not terribly surprised to see that Durrel Douglas did not file in At Large #5. He hadn’t filed a July finance report, and as far as I could tell had not screened for endorsements. I know he’s been spending a lot of time in Waller County and working with the Houston Justice Coalition on the Sandra Bland case. Sometimes the time isn’t right.
– Former District F Council Member and 2009 Controller candidate MJ Khan filed for Controller. Not sure what’s up with that, but I’m guessing Bill Frazer isn’t thrilled by it.
– Here’s the Chron story, which includes the HISD candidates. The main point of interest there is former Trustee Diana Davila running for her old seat in District 8, against Trustee Juliet Stipeche.
That’s all I know for now. I’ll be updating the 2015 Election page over the next couple of days to get all the changes in. We’ll see if anything else shakes out. What are your impressions of the candidate list?
Thank you, Straight slate is appropriate, why not think the same way when looking at the controller’s race.
Speaking of slates it is no different than what the homosexual community (the un-straight slate) has been doing for years in city elections.
I am not sure that I will have the backing of the straight slate backers, as I have no idea where Jim Bigham stands on the issue of the ERO ordinance. But the straight slate support would be greatly appreciated. I live in a district that was suppose to have been created where a person with a Spanish surname could be elected, just giving that a test again. Personally I think it was created as a second homosexual district or homosexual supporting district. My two cents on the straight slate, or as the some time “Latino” supporter would say mi “Dos Centavos”.
So when will we see the interview? 😉
“Frequent commenter Manuel Barrera filed in District J, joining Jim Bigham and some other dude against CM Mike Laster.”
I’m not seeing some other dude listed anywhere.
Steven don’t hold your breath on my interviewing, but I am open to suggestions on how to make HPD more efficient. I have already reached out to former HPD officers.
Greg – The other dude was mentioned in the Chron story. He was apparently the last filer, so the city link may not have been fully updated.
I have no plans at this time to go back and do further interviews in races I’ve already covered. I’m still doing interviews for other races, and I just don’t have the bandwidth for it.
I believe a very weak slate of ‘Republican’ (Davila, Garcia, Rodriguez and Aguilar) challengers were put forward in the east end races. They are remiss to think that folks have forgotten about their past. They will get their report card soon enough.
Rumor has it, Herlinda Garcia was scrambling yesterday (instead of running her school) to find someone to run against Tamez.
I do not think Stipeche, Gallegos, Loredo or Tamez have anything to worry about.
Julian, I see that you enjoy spreading rumors. Does Manny Rodriguez vote as a Republican? Does Garcia? Does Aguilar? Does Davila? Where do you get your fibs to spread? I hear that all the homosexuals were supporting Loredo, Tamez, Gallegos, and Stipeche and they have commenced their homosexual campaign by spreading rumors.
I do vote as a Republican, I voted in the Democratic primary once recently as I had a friend running as a Democrat.
Here are some notes from my vantage point:
Dale Steffes who filed at the last minute for mayor is well-known in Republican circles on the west side, and may drain some votes from King/Costello/Hall.
Council Member Stardig should be concerned that she drew an opponent. She has lots of enemies looking to retaliate, and although her opponent has a poor ballot name, Stardig should not take any vote for granted.
Two Republican precinct chairs filed against Ellen Cohen, while Jason Hochman who filed a treasurer designation and visited some civic clubs and public events, apparently did not. One of the two Republicans is credible and has a substantial base of young supporters: Carl Jarvis is active in liberty-minded Republican groups and presents well.
While Mike Knox will be supported by Hotze and his ilk in the At Large 1 contest, he is not really cut from the same cloth. Trebor Gordon, a fellow GOP precinct chair, appears to have dropped out of the contest in favor of Knox. He never filed a campaign finance report as required back in July.
Eric Dick’s entry into the At Large 2 contest my increase the odds of a run-off. R. W. Bray, who was rumored to enter that contest, did not file.
Dung Le, supposedly filed at the last minute for district J, according to the Chronicle. That would be good from my perspective. But he is not listed on the web site.
Manuel, The goood news for your opponents is your are stuck on a blog today instead of running a serious campaign.
Stipeche, Gallegos, Loredo and Tamez have nothing to worry about. Thier opponents are just a process in the way of these well-respected elected officials serving thier constituents.
The weak ‘Republican’ slate (Davila, Garcia, Rodriguez and Aguilar) of candidates will not work for many reasons, including thier corrupt background:
http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2011/04/houston-community-college-shields-investigation-report-into-conflicts/1304008205.column
http://www.texaswatchdog.org/taxonomy/term/309
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/memorial/news/texas-watchdog-untangles-web-of-hisd-hcc-port-harris-county/article_4cca35d2-9a10-547f-a767-19e15c3c14ad.html
MB, if you need to speak with any retired firemen, police, or public works employees regarding suggestions for improving the city, there are scores of them out there willing to give anyone who will listen a piece of their mind for free (or perhaps a drink). Sometimes, you’ll get better results consulting with such employees from OTHER agencies though, as they have the experiences to contrast with.
As I’ve written here in the past, zero based budgeting was a flop when it was introduced, half the mayoral candidates chasing it as though it could help get city finances in order. I’m a finance guy by training and tendency, all the basics that apply to an individual also apply to any sized organization over a period of time. Houston spends too much and that won’t change as long as every Tom, Dick, and Harry (substitute names as you see fit) cares more about “leaving a mark” or running for higher office. Simply prioritize spending and set aside enough each year to lower debt even by a little, like paying an extra $100 a month on a mortgage greatly accelerates paying off a house, and note that every expansion of a city owned park or building will increase yearly expenses.
Steven, would you suspect that I have quite a few relatives in police work, including two brothers that recently retired from HPD, nephews in HPD, Constable, cousin in Sheriff’s department, that is just in Harris County.
Their advice is, why always pick on the little people, employees, look at the TIRZ, tax abatement, etc. I took that to heart.
Julian, I have read all of that those article and have taken their reporters to task for doing such a poor job of reporting. They are lies, and I dare you to read the Veselka report in its entirety, including all the interviews.
Well, tell me where should I be? Did you know that Kuffner has been online so long that not only are his articles quickly picked up by google, so are the comments. Stepiche misses those meeting where they explain the agendas, she does not stand up for her community as evident by what recently happened at Wharton Elem http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/education/article/Enrollment-caps-at-popular-schools-cause-6433388.php
That would not have occurred if Diana Davila was the Trustee. How many children does Stipeche have in HISD.
Gallegos, has been a miserable failure as a council member, just like Laster.
Julian, go check to see if they vote as Republicans, they don’t.
Eva Loredo was mentioned by Renee Byas as being corrupt, did you know that? Tamez does not live in the district she is representing that is a known fact, tell me about how great the schools she is running are doing? Tell me how many friends she had brought in? Step
Julian, while you are checking on Tamez, explain those large salary increases, I should mention that is at Raul Izaguirre for those readers not familiar where she is the superintendent?
Check how often Eva Loredo goes on trips on the taxpayer’s dime? Her nickname at HCC is the traveling trustee.
In between posting, I am working on a website, is that necessary for campaigning? http://www.mannybarrera.com
MB, I suspect you have a number of very pleasant relatives that work for local agencies and in different fields. I concur with their sentiments regarding TIRZ’s, 380 agreements, and the rest; I have been supportive of employees in this regard for a lot longer than local media decided to bash employees as the “bad guys”. King’s continued attacks, Costello’s demands retirees take another hit, and Hall’s wishy washy, all over the board answers depending on what audience he was in front of, convinced me that someone needs to put out a counter balance to the lies.
There are a hundred ways to improve different policies of the city but each one means someone is going to get upset or lose out, the developers shelling out great deals of money to influence city hall, commissioner’s court, and the state legislature. So while you and I may disagree on the HERO ordinance and out of state tuition, I think we would agree on many other things if we cared to discuss them. I’d still be interested in seeing something of substance regarding this whole gay cabal of candidates you speak of, but it’s not a big issue for me.
There’s a big difference between what the Steve Hotz backed straight slate wants to do and the um, “unstraight slate”. Hotz, with a bunch of politicians standing around him, was quoted saying he wanted to drive the gays out of the city. There is a slate of politicians who are there to oppress and discriminate against others, that is their primary focus. That is hardly the focus of the candidates that are supported in the gay community.
…and no, Gallegos doesn’t have anything to worry about. People remember Herlinda Garcia and her antics, including the time she crashed an opponents fundraiser and made a scene. Classless to the end.
Manuel, The slate of ‘Republican’ candidates (Davila, Garcia, Rodriguez and Aguilar) will not work. These folks are corrupt and the east end does not want them.
Herlinda Garcia paid Dave Wilson $1,000 according to her December 2013 HCC race:
http://www.hccs.edu/district/about-us/boardoftrustee/board-information/campaign-finance-reports/?appSession=493380938705352
Julian, Dave Wilson donated $1,000 to Herlinda, she didn’t pay him. I don’t know if she returned it, maybe she did. Money is money. By the way I consider Dave Wilson to be a friend of mine.
Eastender I have never met Steve Hotze, so I don’t where he stands on driving homosexuals out of Houston, but if I ever meet him I will ask him.
Let me see, what the unstraight slate has already taken at least two seats that were suppose to be for Latinos, they recently have started going after African American seats. Maybe not of town, but out of power. For maybe 5% of the population they believe they have at least six homosexual persons in city council/mayor.
Lane Lewis refused meet with the DREAMERS and locked the doors on them, why?
That JP in Pasadena has a staff member that said she would go out “Wet Back” hunting, she is still there, she is very influential with the unions from what I hear.
Hi Mainstream, maybe we met at a civic club meeting? There weren’t many folks at these meetings, so I am curious as to how you knew that I went.
But just to answer your comment, I didn’t file because I failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot. District C requires the most of any district (159), and although I got over 100, it is not so easy as it seems. In the heat of July and August, people don’t come outside, and people don’t answer their doors, fearful that someone with the Watchtower or selling new windows won’t ever leave. Also, finding people who are registered to vote is a challenge, and many registered voters have a different address, not in District C, when I looked them up on the Web site. I had many neighbors who were interested, and supportive, and who shared my concerns, but nobody who could donate enough for me to pay the $500 fee, while my volunteers were only able to come up with about ten signatures total. So, not at all easy to collect enough signatures, considering that I also have to work at a job.
Also, I ran into some “hard Democrats” who believe that no Democrat should be challenged by a constructive socialist, and even a few Republicans who didn’t want to sign, which maybe tipped me off that some Republican candidate would possibly emerge. I simply wanted to serve the people in my neighborhood, and to try to fill the leadership void in Houston. I have no interest in being a politician, although I was contacted by some people who just want to see Ellen Cohen out of office. I don’t have a constant supply of anger, I just hoped to improve the situation, and never considered my effort as “filing against Ellen Cohen.” Indeed, my assessment of my chances to be elected if I got onto the ballot were slim.
I looked at the Web page of Michael McDonald, one of the District C candidates, and he looks really nice, a veteran, and a hard worker, but his “On the Issues” section is light on substance. He wants to have more police, but Houston has more overlapping law enforcement agencies than any city anywhere. Why not sign interagency agreements with the constables, sheriffs, DPS, Metro Police, Medical Center Police, Bellaire Police, South Side Place Police, HISD Police, UT Police, Rice Police, UH Police, University Place Police, River Oaks Patrol and every other agency patrolling inside the loop. That way you can coordinate what you have for more efficient service.
McDonald mentions the potholes, but doesn’t say how Mayor Parker lied about how many were fixed http://www.khou.com/story/news/investigations/2015/08/10/city-houston-has-inflated-number-potholes-filled/31445597/ Of course Mayor Parker, in her response to that story, said that the only way to fix the potholes, is to cut the libraries and pools and parks, and other resources for ordinary people. If you recall, that measure of austerity was one of her first acts when she took office. Really, the city just needs to declare bankruptcy, because it is in financial trouble, and Mayor Parker will leave that to her successor. I did some research and talked to a few experts who said that the pensions are worse than they appear, because the GASB accounting standards are based on the performance of the assets. So when the assets under perform the pensions are in even worse shape than it seems.
McDonald talks about the economy and how we need to focus on retraining workers, while attracting business to town. But what about nurturing local business? Perhaps that could be done by not giving 380s and tax abatement to every big business that comes to Houston and sends it profits out of town while “creating” a few minimum wage jobs here. What about a $15 minimum wage, and then some of that money will stay here and be spent here. And making these businesses pony up to maintain the infrastructure. If they don’t want to come, then at least a local business will fill the void and we will still have our unsafe Yale Street Bridge, our potholes and flooding.
With all the talk about equality, the city needs to repeal the law against feeding the homeless and sitting on the sidewalk downtown. These are laws designed to discriminate against certain people. Would HERO even have become such a debacle if Houston had decent leadership? And what if Houston had a government that was honest about the potholes, about the finances and that used the Rebuild Houston money in the manner that the voters approved….there is a lot to talk about, and I doubt that the two parties will address any of it. I don’t vote because, as W E B Dubois wrote: “In 1956, I shall not go to the polls. I have not registered. I believe that democracy has so far disappeared in the United States that no “two evils” exist. There is but one evil party with two names, and it will be elected despite all I can do or say. There is no third party.”
I dare you to leave those false accusations about me in this page. You better do your homework. The state already ruled it was a lie and I have an ongoing federal investigation in my favor. My termination was the result of a corrupted administration who discriminated against me for standing boldly on my biblical convictions and other factors. I am ashamed of you Kuff. You could have asked me first. You’re one sided.
For the record, Durrell Douglas has not been working in Waller nor has he been assisting us in seeking justice concerning Sandra Bland. As a person who has been to Waller many times, I’ve never seen him there consistently. He tends to steal ideas of his comrades and claims those ideas as his own. He hijacks social actions led by grassroots activists/millennials and claims he organized the action(s). There’s a reason he wasn’t picked up on endorsements. People recognized his behavior a while ago. Mr. Douglas isn’t the real deal and would not be good for the city as a leader.
His ability to “show off” is undesirable at least. For us who have been truly working in justice for Sandy, wanted to set the record straight. Mr. Douglas has stolen hard work from so many good people who are deserving of the original credit. It is about time people speak up because we are tired of Houstonian’s not knowing the truth. Let the record show why Mr. Douglas would have lacked as a true leader. It certainly isn’t because he’s doing what is right. His failed campaign, lack of support and no endorsements gives us the big picture. It’s time he go back to square one and re-evaluate where he went wrong as a whole and how he has failed his former friends, supporters and comrades.
Jason, two things:
Law Enforcement: The city of Houston already has interagency agreements with local fire and police. For the most part, the agreement outlines duties and responsibilities of each partner as well as limitations. When you speak of overlapping jurisdictions though, keep in mind that Bellaire does NOT overlap Houston, it is a separate city, as are South Side Place, South Houston, Pasadena, etc. HCSO has a manpower shortage as pronounced as Houston and covers almost twice the square miles with far fewer deputies (DPS is far worse). They help each other now and the very expensive radio system upgrades of a few years back let them communicate together but make no mistake, Houston tends to be a net taker in any deal they engage in so none of those other agencies are going to handle day to day events for the city. Then, if you are raped or the victim of a major crime, you really aren’t going to want most deputy constables or UT police investigating it, their training and experience tends to be far, far weaker than say HCSO or the city police.
Pensions: Pension funding has been the credit card of the city for over 15 years now, elected officials paying some of the amount needed but not all because it was inconvenient to cut other wanted services or projects. Just like a kid in a candy store, there is an endless stream of pet projects and items people want financed. That will never change. I would think as a self declared “constructive socialist”, you would recognize that the workers for the city were made promises in the form of contracts as outlined by state law to be compensated in part by pensions, promises that have already been cut repeatedly just as Parker’s other first thing she did in office was to increase the cost of medical care to retirees by 300% or more despite promises to the contrary.
But with the city’s total budget in excess of $5.1 billion a year, good luck convincing a federal bankruptcy judge that the city is broke, programmed spending here less than in most large cities translating into the ability to cut costs in a variety of ways at any given time. No, you can’t open five new libraries a year, provide a duplicate crime lab to the county’s scandal free lab, and continue to pour millions into arts and corporate welfare for big companies to shuffle jobs from existing locations (not even create new jobs, just move them from one store to a nearby new location); but ultimately, the city is not even close to being “broke”. For the record, each of the three pension systems has averaged over 8.5%, in some years making over 17% (recently), as well as deploy a five year smoothing average. At under 6% of the total city budget, you fail as a “constructive socialist” if going bankrupt is your solution.
But if you “don’t want to be a politician”, don’t run for office, don’t complain about a small filing fee or the need for a modest amount of signatures, and move forward.
I vote Dem even more often than GOP – I am fully behind the US Supreme Court’s Decision on Equal Marriage, in fact I am the attorney and former State Bar Director who got hundreds of other attorneys to file the grievance vs Texas AG Ken Paxton for not upholding the law.
Having said that I know Eric Dick personally and well. To label him as part of a “Straight ticket” and infer that perhaps he would not be open-minded towards Gays is unfair and salacious. Eric is a warm and open-minded person and especially easy to talk with. He is not the type of GOP person who hates individuals because they are different. Eric also has a great sense of humor, even making self depreciating jokes at his own last name.
Eric would be a great candidate for Mayor however as a family man he does have a new little “Dick” in his home that he adores and to whom devotes much time . Many politicians would sacrifice family for their own personal goals.
Erics’ great public stand was against the Mayor for banning food to homeless people in certain areas. Homeless people are hungry and Eric has championed them for years. He has compassion.
Eric is a clear choice for Houston’s leadership. He would add integrity, humor and his vast legal knowledge to Houston’s Government. He should be a top priority for every voter.
Kendall, that link refers to a News 92 FM story about you. Show me where they ran a retraction or a correction and then we can talk.
Steve, my assessment of Eric Dick is based on his two prior campaigns. I’ll be happy if he proves me wrong an runs a serious, thoughtful campaign this time, but I’m not expecting it.
Charles,
Sometimes I prove people wrong.
#HomelessStomachsMatter
I like both Charles & Eric. I want to believe in Eric. Performance art–which might have been my line first in regards to Eric–is what campaigns are made of.